Customer Reviews

Reality Based Personal Protection

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has a lot of good information in it. But, I was really put off by a couple of things. For one, the author talks about 25 years in the marital arts and then explains why you should not waste your time doing the same. He discards the value of kata, for example, and replaces them with role play-acting. He also advises responding to imaginary attackers. Isn't this kata, or does using the word drills make a difference? The author uses a lot of marketing and politically correct phrases, another major put-off. How can you teach reality-based techniques and use euphemisms in place of reality terms. The author says that you don't have time to determine what grip an attacker has on his knife but you should have assessed the threat level, using "The Jim Wagner Reality-Based" force ladder, and decided if you are in a green or yellow state, and the consequences of using excessive force, and assumed a conflict resolution position. I know that is a huge run-on sentence but these things are more important to know than whether your attacker is using a forward or reverse grip. It is probably also the reason you didn't have time to check out his grip.

By the time I had gotten part way through the book I was tired of being bombarded with the phrase "The Jim Wagner Reality-Based.........." I found myself skipping entire sections because I was sick of reading that phrase repeated on almost every page and often attached to photos of the techniques too. If you left out "The Jim Wagner..." stuff the book would only be half as thick. Enough already! The guy's name is on the cover I know who wrote it. How often does he feel he needs to remind the reader? In the end I do not feel like I learned any new techniques from this book and I felt an overwhelming desire to retreat to the dojo and do some kata.

Jim Wagner's Reality Based Protecion System is the most thorough street based system i've seen. He covers all the bases;from events leading to conflict, some simple but effective techniques to help you survive, and what to expect in the aftermath including first aid and all the legal hassles. Also included is the importance of realistic training, and what to expect in a real world conflict. He truly presents all the tools and ideas you need to survive in the modern jungle. If i could own only one martial arts book, this would be it, hands down. be forewarned, if youre looking for the typical "1,001" mysterious deadly techniques picture book, this ain't it.

All the training and studying I've done teaches that the battle is won or lost first in the mind. The way to begin to win that battle is with good information. This book is loaded with good information. Reading Jim Wagner's resume you get a serious look into how a "been there, done that" kind of person is represented in print. That extreme depth of experience has lead to an equal depth of knowledge that is on display in this book. He's a good writer which makes the communication of his ideas very clear. This is helpful because some of his ideas will be hard to understand. Some will be hard to take if you come from a very traditional martial arts background or you're very wrapped up in the latest MMA craze. Mr. Wagner cuts through the extraneous and unnecessary material and gets to the core of the issues at hand.

But, this does lead to the one problem I have with the book. It constantly bashes other martial arts training. I will grant you that some, many, most if you want, martial arts schools don't teach the nitty-gritty "what is really going to happen to you" kind of stuff that Mr. Wagner is presenting here and in his courses. However, they can't possibly be as big a waste of time as he represents especially when you consider his own background in those same martial arts.

Once you get past that single issue, this is a fantastic and informative read. I've been especially impressed with how his knife disarms work. I've been trying them out with my own training and I'm seeing an improvement in an area where I was weak. You may or may not agree with some of his techniques, but his training methods are based on established approaches taken by the military and police all over the world. The best part of his experience and information comes when he gets into what happens after you've successfully defended yourself. It's information that's hard to come by in this clear and concise a manner. If you're serious about training in self-defense or you teach it, you should have this book on your shelf and refer back to it regularly.

I have enjoyed Jim Wagner's "High Risk" column in "Black Belt" magazine, so I was looking forward to reading his book, "Reality-Based Personal Protection." Despite "Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection" being a bit over used throughout the text, I found this book to contain a lot of useful information for the person wanting to know more about protecting or defending themselves. It is a good addition to any self-defense library.

The author discusses his own traditional martial art background as part of the genesis of his system, but then spends a lot of time stating how his system is better than those traditional arts. I will agree with Wagner to a point. It really depends on why a person is training, and who the instructor is. Yes, I am familiar with some "traditional" schools that have black belt students that would not fare well in an actual fight. I also know "traditional" instructors that have students that will hold their own with any training out there. So it just depends. I do believe if all you want to know is how to fight or defend yourself, training such as Wagner's program, or that such as Kelly McCann teaches (McCann is one of my favorite instructors) focuses on that one thing, defending yourself. Many martial art programs have different focuses, and therefore they have other benefits besides just learning to fight. Again, it depends on the goals of training.

With that said, let's look at Wagner's book. At the beginning he provides some background and history of his work and training. Some of this I knew, some I was not familiar with. Wagner does have an impressive resume.

Chapter One: Knowledge Domain: The Foundation of the System. This chapter discusses why reality-based training is superior for self-defense needs, and also covers important topics such as the OODA loop; legal concepts such as means, opportunity, and intent; use-of-force; conflict stress, and other important considerations for training. This chapter has some very good information.

Chapter Two: Defensive Tactics: Unarmed Conflict. This is a very basic chapter with a little text on directions, arm strikes, arm blocks, leg strikes, and leg blocks. There are photographs illustrating some of these. There is not a lot in this chapter, and though some basics are shown, most people will want other resources to teach actual fighting techniques. Techniques are hard enough to learn without an instructor, but this text is not primarily a technique book, so you will need more resources or training. It is good to show some of the basics that are most useful in real situations.

Chapter Three: Ground Survival: Using The Ground Tactically. I'm glad that Wagner started the chapter saying the ground is the last place you want to be. In real fights, you don't want to be down, but unfortunately, you will sometimes find yourself there. Wagner does provide some useful information regarding being on the ground, and the text contains numerous photographs illustrating different training exercises to help you prepare for the street. Not bad to have a little extra information about practical ground fighting.

Chapter Four: Knife Survival: Usage And Defense. Besides the fact that I disagree with the statement "expect to get cut," or "you will get cut" regarding knife fighting, I found some useful practical information in this chapter. I have trained in the grab, close, takedown, and escape disarm drill and find it very practical for facing a knife unarmed. I have taught this drill, and think it is one of the best parts of this chapter.

Chapter Five: Crime Survival: Common Criminal Attacks. This was a good chapter because Wagner wrote about some things you don't see in many self-defense texts. Some were not new, but liked that he included: Counter-surveillance, situational awareness, legalities of pre-emptive strikes, other legal parameters, training, conflict language, teamwork, and counter-ambush tactics. He also included some practical drill such as thinking like a criminal, and walking the gauntlet. The short bit on first aid should prompt people to get training, and the section on citizen's arrest was useful and something I don't remember seeing in other self-defense books. He also includes some advice for dealing with the police and some information regarding biochemical defense. The final part of the chapter before photographs dealt with courtroom and attorney information. Very basic, but I do agree with Wagner that those of us that teach self-defense and martial arts should include teaching about the legal aspects of defending oneself.

Chapter Six: Terrorism Survival: Armed Attacks To Weapons Of Mass Destruction. In today's world, terrorism is a fact, and the possibility of being a victim of a terrorist attack, while slim for most, is a possibility. Wagner provides some basics to help a person if they ever find themselves in that situation. However, without training for this, just reading a book most likely won't help you much. There are other resources out there for terrorist threats, but this chapter does provide some useful advice.

Chapter Seven: Handgun Survival: Weapon Handling And Tactics. This short chapter has some basics for using a handgun for self-defense. Wagner advocates using air guns for training, and much of this chapter focuses on drills you can use with an air gun for practical training. You will need more training and instruction than this chapter provides, but you can say that about any resource. The chapter does provide some good safety advice and elements you should incorporate into your handgun training.

Chapter Eight: Women's Survival: Violence And Counterattacks. This is a very introductory chapter on issues women may face. There are much more complete references on both rape recovery and rape prevention as well as home security. (Wagner includes two pages of bullet points on home security tips) It's not bad advice, and he does provide some useful information and tips, it's just as complete as other sources.

In summary, this book contains a lot of useful information and practical drills for anyone interested in self-defense or personal protection. It is a good addition to one's martial art or self-defense library, and I would encourage people to not just read the text, but to actually incorporate the drills and advice into their training. Protecting yourself is up to you, and this book is a good resource to help you do just that.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of the DVD set Streetfighting Essentials.

I was looking at picking up some of Wagner's materials, and initially thought he had a pretty solid background. Unfortunately, the more I dug the more weird stuff popped up...his military background, the circumstances in which he left both local and federal agencies. there are a few sites out there that discuss this, for those that are interested.

this might be an interesting book in an interesting series, but I didn't feel comfortable giving this guy my money.

The author is a well-known police and military trainer. He coined the the term "Reality-Based Training" when he began his Black Belt column several years ago. The fact is, what Jim Wagner has done is to take the principles, tactics and techniques we in the law enforcement community have been using for years, and applied them to his civilian self-defense program. If you are interested in a practical and realistic approach to self-defense and protection, you will want to read and study this book. You will get the most out of this text if you combine it with Jim Wagner's "Reality-Based" DVD series. Though most experienced police officers will be familiar with much of the material; nevertheless, law enforcement officers and trainers can still learn an enormous amount of valuable material reading this 380 page book.

In conclusion, if you are a law enforcement officer, a police defensive tactics instructor or just someone who is interested in a practical and effective guide to self-protection, you will want a copy of this book.

Rating: 5 stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Use of the Monadnock Straight Baton)

This is among first 3 books on self protection on the market(my opinion). In it there is a lot of information and a lot of usefull pictures with techniques.
This book is good for civilians, LEO and military personel. Some topics are never trained in "regular dojos" so it is good to know them and include them in your workouts.